Quarterback Jameis Winston and Florida State ran away from the Miami Hurricanes. / John David Mercer, USA TODAY Sports

by Eddie Timanus, USA TODAY Sports

by Eddie Timanus, USA TODAY Sports

On a weekend in which half the top 10 and a total of eight ranked teams had byes, the Seminoles took advantage of their prime-time opportunity with an impressive 41-14 victory against archrival and previously unbeaten Miami (Fla.).

Though FSU's rank stayed the same at No. 3 behind Alabama and Oregon, the Seminoles did pick up some ground on the leaders, nabbing three No. 1 votes in the process. The Crimson Tide retained the No. 1 spot they've held all season, though their grip loosened a bit during their weekend off as they garnered 54 of 62 first-place votes. The Ducks, who were also idle preparing for Thursday's huge Pac-12 North showdown with Stanford, retained the No.2 spot and claimed the remaining five No.1 nods.

Stock up: Michigan State. No ranked teams were upset by anyone from outside the top 25, so upward mobility was difficult this week. The Spartans were the exception, gaining five positions to No.19 after a dominant 29-6 victory against in-state rival Michigan.

Stock down: Miami. The Hurricanes stuck with the Seminoles for a half but were shut out after intermission. They took an eight-place hit in the rankings to slip to No. 14.

Stock up: Stanford. The order throughout the rest of the top 25 stayed basically the same, with nobody other than the Spartans advancing more than one position. That was still good news for the Cardinal, who took advantage of their own weekend off to inherit the No.6 slot on the eve of their clash with Oregon.

Stock down: Texas Tech. The Red Raiders' precipitous decline has been nearly as rapid as their advancement to their lofty No. 9 perch a couple of weeks ago. But their 7-0 start has now been followed by a two-game skid, this week at home against Oklahoma State, that sent them on another eight-position tumble to No. 23.

Stock up: Oklahoma. The Sooners slid up to the No. 8 position and also have a chance to move up further with Thursday's date with Baylor on the horizon.

Stock down: Northern Illinois. Technically it wasn't a drop. But the Huskies weren't able to move up, either. NIU stayed put at No. 20 and still lags behind No. 17 Fresno State among teams from non-automatic BCS conferences hoping to crash the big-money bowl line-up.

New kid on the block: No.24 Arizona State.

College dropout: Michigan.

Eddie Timanus, a national colleges reporter and the poll editor for USA TODAY Sports, is on Twitter @EddieTimanus.